WaveMetrix has brought together nine of the most interesting case studies of social media marketing seen in Q1 2012. Focusing on how brands can maximise the impact of their activities, our Q1 trends report investigates three key trends: the art of asking questions, using social media to support celebrity campaigns and getting the most out of Twitter activities.

As brands are investing increasing resources in social media, it is important to understand which approaches generate the best return. The Q1 2012 social media report identifies best practices to help brands craft a successful social media strategy.

The art of asking well-crafted questions: Q1 has shown that asking fans questions can generate higher levels of engagement, but some approaches work particularly well. For example, John Frieda show that fans are much more likely to respond to aspirational questions about what they want, rather than what they have. Heinz Ketchup’s crowdsourcing question about what their new label should say suggests fans are keen to share their ideas and expertise

Using social media to support celebrity campaigns: Social media can be a good medium to boost the return on a celebrity campaign. Converse’s tie-in with the Gorillaz show that social media allows brands to easily link celebrities with products. Social media users also respond better to humorous content, as Virgin Media’s tie-in with Usain Bolt shows. However, brands should be aware that social media can exacerbate a negative response, as Cadbury Creme Egg found when using Facebook to promote a partnership with unpopular reality-TV stars

Maximising the impact of Twitter: Lionsgate’s promotion of The Hunger Games movie shows that linking Twitter with other platforms such as Facebook can boost fan engagement. Audi’s Twitter competition to win an R8 also boosts follower count by being both interactive and focused on fans’ aspirations. However, analysis of RBS’ 6 Nations sponsorship shows that brands should align their use of hashtags with that of consumers to get the most out of sponsoring an event